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Record #13584
Name :
: Mary Louisa Milsom Jones MORTIMER (1873 - 1971)
  aka : May Vosper, May McKay


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 21 Sep 1873

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 10 Feb 1971   Notes : pneumonia
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Bradfield

Midhope
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialUnited States of America, Santa Cruz, Capitola
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 2 Nov 1884
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Parisian

Placement Family
: McCarroll
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
: Maria Rye/Wortley Union

Agency
: Maria Rye
NotesMary Mortimer was born in Midhope Stones, a village 11 miles northeast of Sheffield, on September 21, 1873. She was the eldest of three children of Eliza Hannah (formerly Milsom) and Charles James Jones Frederick Mortimer, who was the village schoolmaster. Charles was also a Chelsea Pensioner with 20+ years in the Royal Engineers, where he was trained as a civil engineer. Mary's sister Emma (also a BHC) was about two years youner, and her brother, Freddy, four years younger. In 1881, the family seems to have fallen on hard times and moved to Leeds, where they occupied a small apartment near the public dispensary on New Briggate. In September 1881, Mary's mother died in childbirth, and her father turned to drink. According to family lore, their mother's family wanted to take Mary and Emma to live with them, but Charles, embittered by their treatment of him, insisted that the girls be sent to Canada to live with friends. We now know that Mary and Emma spent some time in the Wortley Union Workhouse and were in Miss Rye's party of 58 girls who sailed from Liverpool on the Parisian, arriving in Quebec on November 2, 1884. Mary and Emma were placed with different families in Ontario, Emma with Angus and Eliza McNaughton on a farm in Oxmead, and Mary with Thomas and MaryAnn McCarroll in Meaford. Thomas was a druggist. Emma stayed with the McNaughtons until and learned to be a dressmaker. Mary ran away, probably to Toronto or Buffalo. She lied about her age to work as a domestic servant. In 1896, she she met and married an Englishman, Alfred Vosper who was a head waiter at the Iroquois Hotel in Buffalo New York. Not too long after, they moved to New York City. Mary and Alfred worked waiting tables. Their daughter, Hazel, was born in Manhattan in 1898. Within a few years Alfred became ill and had to be hospitalized. He died in 1905. Mary moved to New Jersey. She sent her daughter to an Episcopal girl's boarding school in Asbury Park. With a friend, she opened a small tearoom. In about 1909, Mary came down with typhoid fever. Her doctor advised her to make arrangements for her daughter in case she didn't survive. She sent Hazel across the country to Pasadena, CA to live with her sister, Emma. She joined them in about 1912. There she met and married Glenn McKay, a marriage that lasted until Glenn passed away in 1964. Mary and Glenn lived in several places in California and Nevada. Glenn was a farmer, miner, and building contractor. Glenn and Mary lived in several places in California and Nevada. At one point, they took in Glenn's orphaned twin nephews and raised them as their own. Mary died in Capitola, CA in 1971 at the age of 97. She was survived by her sister Emma, daughter, Hazel McChrystal, three grandchildren, fourteen great grandchildren and a nephew (Emma's son). Despite the barriers imposed by the BHC program, she managed to stay connected with her sister throughout her life, and, though she never saw him again, had written contact with her brother, Freddy. 
ContributorsCreated : 2011-02-26 11:15:26 / From original database


Last Updated : 2013-11-17 14:44:58 /

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  8 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
22877 MORTIMER, Arthur L.1893ENG,     May 1905 : Southwark CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
14677 MORTIMER, Emma ENG,     Nov 1884 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
13932 MORTIMER, Emma Jane1875ENG,    , Midhopestones, Ecclesfield Parish Nov 1884 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
20556 MORTIMER, Ernest John1893 Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
15344 MORTIMER, Harriet1862ENG,     Jun 1871 : Prussian CAN Maria Rye  
14069 MORTIMER, Mary1881ENG,     Oct 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
13584 MORTIMER, Mary Louisa Milsom Jones1873ENG,    , Bradfield Nov 1884 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
6529 MORTIMER, Percival1896ENG,     May 1911 : Virginian CAN Unknown